Lamar Grand Jury Indicts Sykes in Woman’s Murder

Click here to read the indictment:

VERNON, Ala. (Press Release) – On May 20, 2015, the Grand Jury of Lamar County met in special called session and issued an indictment against BRANDON DEWAYNE SYKES, DOB 9/14/1981, b/m, of Vernon.

The indictment charges Sykes with one count of capital murder committed during the course of a burglary, and one count of capital murder committed during the course of a kidnapping.

The victim in the case, Keshia Nicole Sykes, is the ex-wife of the defendant. She disappeared February 19, 2015, and thus far her body has not been recovered.

Chris McCool, District Attorney for the 24th Judicial Circuit, said that the arrest was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Vernon Police Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA)/State Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as well as other local law enforcement agencies.

“Investigator Marty Gottwald of the Vernon Police Department, Special Agent Andy Jones of the SBI, and Special Agent Jamey Bozeman of the SBI, as well as other law enforcement officers, worked diligently and cooperated to gather the evidence upon which the indictment is based,” McCool stated. “My former Chief Investigator, Keith ‘Booty’ Cox, and Investigator Ronald Stough of the Fayette Police Department, assisted in processing the crime scene.”

Cox now serves as the Circuit Clerk for Pickens County, Alabama

McCool also thanked the FBI for their assistance in this case.

“We asked for help from the FBI in processing some of the evidence, and Special Agent Trey Bradford, among others, was instrumental in getting their crime scene team down to process some of the evidence. He also assisted in the investigation.”

Sykes is being held for security reasons in the Pickens County Jail.

Circuit Judge James W. Moore, Jr., has ordered him held without bond pending trial. If convicted of capital murder, Sykes faces the death penalty or life without parole.